Is there anything I should be aware of or are the brake pads/calipers on the discos the same as pretty much every other vehicle? I ask because I had a VW passat that if you didn't have computer with a specific program hooked up when you removed the pads, the calipers would slam and lock shut and you'd have to have your car towed to the dealer (really stupid). Just want to make sure I am not going to run into any surprises like that.

 

Nothing like that, straight forward remove replace. Give your equipment a thorough eyeball, anything that doesn't seem to look right replace it, no questions asked. Pins and cotters replace if corroded. Check the exposed portion of the pistons for corrosion since they'll be pushed out farther than when you go to push them back in. It will ruin the seals if you push a corroded piston back in without cleaning up. Blah, blah, blah. It's a simple you've done a million times before. Anymore questions just take a pic and post.

 

Does everyone stick with OE pads or are ones from O'Reilly or AutoZone good enough?

 

I use autozone ones and they are pretty good. Best part is they have lifetime warranty so it's basically free pads after the initial purchase.

I just upgraded to D90 front calipers and rotors but my rear are from autozone. When my front run out I will probably switch over.

 

I've been using Wagner pads from O'Reilly with good result.

If the rotors are worn/grooved (I've had good result with Wagner rotors) you'll need to remove the caliper which will mean bleeding the brakes.
If you end up doing that slot the caliper hose bracket


If you need to replace the rotors it means removing the hub so use the opportunity to remove, clean, inspect and repack your hub bearings. Use a new RTC3511 hub seal.